Sex And The City

Here at Flavorwire, we do our level best to engage in rational, reasoned, thoughtful criticism. But there are elements of our culture that are simply out of our analytical grasp: the films, music, authors, television shows, etc. that we hate with no reasonable explanation. Welcome to Irrational Hatred Week, in which your Flavorwire staffers share what we loathe in a variety of media, and do our best to figure out why. Today’s Irrational Hatred topic: TV.
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The rent is, indeed, too damn high. As was widely reported this week, average rents in New York City are now over $3000 a month, a figure that’s skewed to some extent by the sky-high prices in Manhattan’s priciest neighborhoods but still goes to show that living here is an expensive adventure. You’d never know this from the way the city is depicted in popular culture, of course, but while the implausibility of many on-screen depictions of NYC has been well documented, Flavorwire got to wondering: if it’s unfeasible that various characters would be able to afford the locations they’re depicted as living in, well, where would they live? Read on to find out.
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As a former Sex and the City fan, I spent plenty of time viewing the show through rose-colored glasses. But even when I loved SATC, there was always one thing about it that baffled me: its widely celebrated fashion sense, courtesy of famed oddball stylist Patricia Field. Bold and avant-garde at best, the outfits Carrie and her friends wore were more often just plain confusing. So, to commemorate today’s 15th anniversary of Sex and the City, here are a few of the all-time worst ensembles in its history, from both the original series and the movies.
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We already had our doubts about Vulture’s “Sitcom Showdown,” their attempt to select, bracket-style, the best TV sitcom of the modern era, but at exactly 12:15 today, the feature lost any remaining credibility. Why? Writer Starlee Kine (who seems, judging by her This American Life appearances, to be a generally level-headed and thoughtful type) was given the task of selecting 30 Rock or Sex and the City — and she chose Sex and the City. THIS IS A THING THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. She typed the words “Winner:Sex and the City,” and then she hit send. Yes, Liz Lemon and company’s rapid-fire comedy classic was given the shaft for the “shock humor” and Hallmark bullshit of Carrie and the girls. It is the biggest show-biz travesty since Crash won Best Picture. Don’t believe us? We’ve stacked up the wit and wisdom of each show, on ten important topics. We’ll let the results speak for themselves.
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So if you’re celebrating your birthday today, you share it with Charlaine Harris, she who gave the world the insanely successful Sookie Stackhouse novels and thus, indirectly, also the joys of True Blood. As you’ve probably noted if you read Flavorwire at all regularly, we’re borderline obsessed with True Blood, and its success got us thinking of the slew of TV shows based on books that have emerged in the last few years — and, in particular, those that have defied the old adage that the book is always better. We’ve collected a bunch of shows that we reckon have transcended their literary origins — can you think of any other shows that are better than the books they’re based on? (And before you go all crazy in the comments, a disclaimer: we said “better.” We’re not necessarily claiming the books in question are bad — although some most definitely are — just that the TV series they spawned was/is better. OK? Carry on.)
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German illustrator Angela Dalinger (aka Sandra Angela W.) creates naive-style artworks that are inspired by famous sitcoms like Seinfeld, Who’s the Boss, and The Simpsons. We first spotted her raw, childlike paintings and drawings on Juxtapoz and admired the way they capture the memorable features of our favorite TV stars — like Phoebe Buffay’s broomstick skirt and guitar. We love seeing the coloring lines and exaggerated faces on each figure. Head past the break for a your daily dose of nostalgia, and visit Dalinger’s website and online store to see more of her work.
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Opening this Friday at Brooklyn’s brand new Bottleneck Gallery, More Than You Imagined: Art Inspired By Premium Cable is a group exhibition featuring work that pays homage to some of the best TV series in recent memory, from Lena Dunham’s much-discussed show Girls to some truly excellent dramas that are no longer with us, like Six Feet Under and The Wire. In other words, all of the pieces serve as a nice visual reminder of why you’ve been willing to spring for premium cable for more than a decade now, even at those times when you really, really couldn’t afford it. Preview a few of the works that will be up on display in our slideshow, and head over to Slashfilm for even more great TV-inspired art!
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We first spotted Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde’s hand-drawn floor plans of fictional living spaces on BuzzFeed and haven’t been able to stop looking at them. The famous TV apartments are rendered with delicate care, depicting all the memorable details of the small screen spaces. The Friends apartment makes an appearance, along with Carrie Bradshaw’s Upper East Side brownstone from Sex and the City. The Big Bang Theory and Frasier (complete with Martin’s awesomely ratty chair) also get nods. Click through to see Lizarralde’s beautiful bird’s-eye view of TV apartments.
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Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve started some fierce conversations (and ruffled a few feathers) with our features on books and bands that send up red flags among the dating population of Flavorpill’s staff, writers, and readers. With movies, it can get a bit more complicated — after all, a movie is a short commitment, so we can all be forgiven for seeing (and liking) some dogs, or for taking in films that dabble in disturbing subject matter. Where it gets worrisome is when you’re at the potential someone-special’s place, glancing over their DVD shelf, and a title jumps out that you realize they not only paid good money for, but wanted to keep around for repeat viewings. Thus, with the help of readers and colleagues (names kept anonymous to protect, well, everyone), here are some of the movies that you might want to clear from your shelves and queues if you’re heading out into the dating pool. Check them out after the jump, and add your own horror stories in the comments.
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If you always secretly wished that The West Wing was a lot more soapy, then mark your calendars for Sunday night, when a new show called Political Animals premieres on USA. At the heart of this fun new series is the Hammond family, a political dynasty in the vein of the Kennedys, who are every bit as flawed and riddled by scandal. There’s also a clear homage to the Clintons happening here. Sigourney Weaver’s Elaine Barrish is basically Hillary Clinton with a much better stylist; meanwhile, Ciarán Hinds as two-term president and general good ol’ boy Bud Barrish is cut from the same cloth as Bill. As in real life, the on-screen relationship between this fictionalized version of the couple is hard to comprehend. Like Carla Gugino, who plays the family’s nemesis, journalist Susan Berg, we can’t help but wonder why a woman as strong as Elaine would put up with a cheating husband — but then, she’s far from the first TV character to let her heart rule over her head. Click through for a roundup of some of the most hopeless, angst-ridden romantics in recent television history.
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